BG 9.4
SIVANANDAमया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना | मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ||९-४||
9.4 All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest aspect; all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
mayā tatamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagadavyaktamūrtinā . matsthāni sarvabhūtāni na cāhaṃ teṣvavasthitaḥ ||9-4||
Commentary
9.4 Idam, this; sarvam, whole; jagat, world; is tatam, pervaded; maya, by Me; through the supreme nature, that I have, avyakta-murtina, in My unmanifest form, in that form in which My nature is not manifest, i.e. in My form which is beyond the range of the organs. Sarva-bhutani, all beings, from Brahma to a clump of grass; matsthani, exist in Me, are established in Me in that unmanifest form. For, no created thing that is bereft of the Self (i.e. of Reality) can be conceived of as an object of practical use. Therefore, being possessed of their reality through Me who am their Self, they exist in Me. Hence they are said to be established in Me. I Myself am the Self of those created things. Conseently, it appears to people of little understanding that I dwell in them. Hence I say: Na ca aham, but I am not; avasthitah, contained; tesu, in them, in the created things. Since unlike gross objects I am not in contact with anything, therefore I am certainly the inmost core even of space. For, a thing that has no contact with anything cannot exist like something contained in a receptacle. For this very reason …
9.4 This entire universe is pervaded by Me, in an unmanifest form. All beings abide in Me, but I do not abide in them.
9.4 The whole world is pervaded by Me, yet My form is not seen. All living things have their being in Me, yet I am not limited by them.
Other Translations
9.4 The whole world is pervaded by Me, yet My form is not seen. All living things have their being in Me, yet I am not limited by them.
9.4. This entire universe is pervaded by Me, having the unmanifest form (aspect); all beings exist in Me and I do not exist in them.
9.4 This entire universe is pervaded by Me, in an unmanifest form. All beings abide in Me, but I do not abide in them.
9.4 This whole world is prevaded by Me in My unmanifest form. All beings exist in Me, but I am not contained in them!
9.4 This 'entire universe,' composed to sentient and non-sentient beings, is pervaded by Me, the inner controller, whose 'form is not manifest,' namely, whose essential nature is unmanifest. The meaning is that all this is pervaded by Me, the Principal (Sesi), so that I may sustain and rule this universe. This, the pervasion of all by the inner controller, who is invisible to the entire group of sentient and non-sentient beings, is taught in the following passage of the Antaryami-brahmana: 'He who dwells in the earth ৷৷. whom the earth 'does not know' (Br. U., 3.7.3) and 'He who dwells in the self ৷৷. whom the self does not know etc.,' (Br. U. Madh., 3.7.22). Therefore 'all beings abide in Me'; all beings rest in Me who am their inner controller. In the same Brahmana it is taught that their existence and control are dependent on Him, as they are subject to His control and as they constitute His body: 'He whose body is the earth ৷৷. who controls the earth from within' (Br. U., 3.7.3) and 'He whose body is the self ৷৷. He who controls the self from within' (Br. U. Madh., 3.7.22). So also His primacy over everything is taught. 'I am not in them,' namely, I do not 'depend' on them for My existence. There is no help derived from them for My existence.
9.4 Maya etc. All beings exist in Me : Because no other abode of rest is available, even if one wanders [in search of it] for long. The beings (or elements) that form the objects of knowledge possess their well-known nature of insentiency. When these beings manifest with this nature foremost, their other innate nature viz., sentiency, that is opposed to this [former nature], remain hidden. This is what He says by I do not exist in them.
9.4 Idam, this; sarvam, whole; jagat, world; is tatam, pervaded; maya, by Me; through the supreme nature, that I have, avyakta-murtina, in My unmanifest form, in that form in which My nature is not manifest, i.e. in My form which is beyond the range of the organs. Sarva-bhutani, all beings, from Brahma to a clump of grass; matsthani, exist in Me, are established in Me in that unmanifest form. For, no created thing that is bereft of the Self (i.e. of Reality) can be conceived of as an object of practical use. Therefore, being possessed of their reality through Me who am their Self, they exist in Me. Hence they are said to be established in Me. I Myself am the Self of those created things. Conseently, it appears to people of little understanding that I dwell in them. Hence I say: Na ca aham, but I am not; avasthitah, contained; tesu, in them, in the created things. Since unlike gross objects I am not in contact with anything, therefore I am certainly the inmost core even of space. For, a thing that has no contact with anything cannot exist like something contained in a receptacle. For this very reason that I am not in contact with anyting-
By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.